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50 Worst Cars of All Time

298 messages,  Last post on May 11, 2009 at 1:53 PM

You are in the Classic Cars Forum. Your Host is mr_shiftright

What is this discussion about? Automotive News, Classic Cars, Coupe, Convertible, Truck, Sedan, Wagon


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#7 of 298
Chrysler/DeSoto Airflow by hpmctorque
Nov 13, 2008 (12:52 pm)
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I don't think these deserve to be on this list while the Vega should have definitely been on it.
#8 of 298
Re: Chrysler/DeSoto Airflow [hpmctorque] by Mr_Shiftright HOST
Nov 13, 2008 (1:03 pm)
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Replying to: hpmctorque (Nov 13, 2008 12:52 pm)

The author seems to be leaning toward the cars' effect on automotive history. In that sense the Vega was rather meaningless, while the Airflow practically sunk Chrysler, And of course, the Corvair changed the entire process of government intervention into car safety. Our first true postwar "death trap"----AWWWWWWW
 
As for the Model T, it did linger on way too long and gave Chevrolet the edge it needed to dominate Ford for most of the time after all (with some exceptions).
 
So maybe history's his angle, I dunno.
 
But then, why is the Yugo on there? Well, it did start a whole decade of Yugo jokes--maybe that's it!
#9 of 298
Re: Chrysler/DeSoto Airflow [Mr_Shiftright] by texases
Nov 13, 2008 (1:16 pm)
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Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Nov 13, 2008 1:03 pm)

"The author seems to be leaning toward the cars' effect on automotive history. In that sense the Vega was rather meaningless"
 
OK (maybe) - but why the Chevette instead of the Vega? I'd claim the Vega did way more to convince folks that GM could not build a quality compact car, and that ToyHonDatsun were more deserving of their hard-earned $$$.
#10 of 298
Re: Chrysler/DeSoto Airflow [texases] by Mr_Shiftright HOST
Nov 13, 2008 (1:21 pm)
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Replying to: texases (Nov 13, 2008 1:16 pm)

The Chevette was really the most dismal, cheap, nasty little thing you could imagine. I mean, you hopped out of that into a Japanese car while comparative shopping and it was....well....shocking...appalling....
 
At least a Vega, when new, gave you a nice ride, rather attractive looks, and the promise of something better. The Chevette was enough to make you take anti-depressants after your first test drive.
#11 of 298
Re: Chrysler/DeSoto Airflow [Mr_Shiftright] by texases
Nov 13, 2008 (1:30 pm)
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Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Nov 13, 2008 1:21 pm)

No argument about a Chevette's cheapness, but I don't think a 'Honey Bee' was too great, either -

 
And my problem with the Vega is that it incorporated the worst element of GM - release an apparently OK car with hidden major defect(s) resulting from incomplete development time. At least the Chevette was an 'honestly' cheap car, you knew what you were getting
#12 of 298
If ya wanna get picky... by andre1969
Nov 13, 2008 (1:42 pm)
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the Chevette WAS a Japanese car! It was also a Korean car, and a European car. (Isuzu I-mark, Daewoo Maepsy, and Opel Kadette)
 
What was the original source material for that design? The Opel?
#13 of 298
Re: Chrysler/DeSoto Airflow [texases] by Mr_Shiftright HOST
Nov 13, 2008 (1:43 pm)
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Replying to: texases (Nov 13, 2008 1:30 pm)

Yeah but the Chevette wasn't fit for Calcutta much less California. This was a new level of pathetic marketing.
 
To give you an idea. You got in and felt the back of your seat cave in a few inches. As you started the car, it vibrated so badly at idle that your mirrors buzzed. You placed it in gear and it went in with a THUMP. Starting out, the engine noise was deafening. As you hit a bump, the hood would oilcan up and down. The wipers sounds like little sirens and the switchgear would probably break off in a few weeks. ONce it rained, and water got in, the cardboard door panels would melt, but the rubber mats on the floor held lots of water.
#14 of 298
Re: Chrysler/DeSoto Airflow [Mr_Shiftright] by texases
Nov 13, 2008 (1:45 pm)
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Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Nov 13, 2008 1:43 pm)

Sure, but beside that it was OK
#15 of 298
Re: Chrysler/DeSoto Airflow [texases] by Mr_Shiftright HOST
Nov 13, 2008 (1:57 pm)
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Replying to: texases (Nov 13, 2008 1:45 pm)

That's true. Aside from major deficiencies in build quality, paint, drivetrain, upholstery, suspension, body integrity and reliability, the car wasn't too bad at all. I mean, let's be fair.
#16 of 298
Re: 50 Worst Cars of All Time [andre1969] by berri
Nov 13, 2008 (5:09 pm)
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Replying to: andre1969 (Nov 13, 2008 9:44 am)

The Oldsmobile Diesel still makes people reluctant to consider a diesel car and probably also badly hurt Oldsmobile's reputation! It used to be GM's engineering and innovation leader before that.
 
Some of these 50 were more marketing flops than bad cars. I think most everything built in the 73/74 time period was shaky and every manufacturer has had their lemons. GM probably pushed a lot of new ideas too fast, but people forget their successes. The quick downsizing of their full size cars in 77 after the Arab oil embargo a few years earlier resulted in some very good products. The X car may have had its share of issues, but the subsequent A cars it spawned like the Ciera really moved Americans to become receptive to larger, fuel efficient FWD vehicles and likely paved the path to today's enormously popular Camry and Accord. Believe it or not, Chrysler used to be a leader in quality and engineering, but lost its way sometime back in the 70's and never seemed to get it back. It did have some subsequent styling victories though. Ford is more of a follower. It had the Taurus and developed some new market niches like Explorer and the personal luxury Thunderbird segment, but mostly it just seemed to copy GM. Early Toyota's and Honda's weren't all that good and tended to be rust buckets. I've always felt that European cars tended to be over-priced and overrated, but some of them were a lot of fun to drive.

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